-- An exclusive interview with Russian outgoing Ambassador to China Rogachev Igor

Outgoing Russian Ambassador to China Rogachev Igor accepts an interview by the People's Daily newspaper.

"My friends are all over China", said Rogachev Igor with a cheerful smile. On May 21, Russian Ambassador to China Rogachev will leave China for home after his term of office. In the memory of people, it is really difficult to have another one to take the post as the ambassador to China for 13 consecutive years. Though he was fully occupied before leaving Beijing, he still agreed to have an exclusive interview with People's Daily reporters on May 16, talking of his more than 50 years of relations with China.

Witness history of relations between Russia and China

Rogachev was more excited when talking of his experiencing the history of the Russian and Chinese relations. With a good command of Chinese as well as capable of speaking English, French and Uzbek, the legendary figure Rogachev came to work in China for five years as far back as the 1950s. He served as the interpreter of Chinese leaders involving Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai for many times; accompanied the medical experts from the Soviet Union to know the epidemic situation in the villages south of China where the snail fever raged; and served as a translator and a copywriter for the newspaper "Friendship" of Russian edition for the Russian experts who came to China for work. ...

Rogachev said what impressed him deeply was his personal participation in the drafting of the "Sino-Russian Good Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation" since he became the ambassador to China in 1992. "I discussed the ideas of this treaty with my Chinese counterparts for many times. After getting the approval from the leaders of the two countries, we discussed for a long time at the conference table and drafted every clause conscientiously, which was a very happy course". He explicitly told us the signature day of the treaty: July 16, 2001.

Rogachev is very proud of his witnessing and taking part in the other two major milestone events in the development of the relations between Russia and China (the Soviet Union and China). As Russian vice foreign minister he experienced personally the historical event of realizing the normalization of the relations between the Soviet Union and China in 1989, for which he made preparations with his Chinese friends for several years. As ambassador to China, he has witnessed the establishment of Russian-Chinese strategic partnership.

"And there is another historical event that makes me unable to forget." Rogachev mentioned that the both sides of Russia and China inked the supplementary agreement on the eastern border between the two countries when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China last October. "I participated in the boundary negotiations between the two countries as far back as 1960 as a member of the government delegation at that time; in the middle of the 1980s, appointed as head of the government delegation, I signed a series of important agreements with the Chinese side. And last October Russian President Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao drew the satisfactory full stop for the problem jointly. Rogachev said, "Our two governments, two heads of state and the peoples of the two countries have told the world how to correctly deal with and solve the boundary issues left over by history.

"My friends are all over China": Russian Ambassador to China Rogachev Igor

"My friends are all over China"

Rogachev has been acquainted with several generations of top-level Chinese leaders and diplomats and worked and lived in China with an accumulation of more than 20 years. He said: "I made Chinese friends when I studied in the Moscow Institute of International Relations first. I had deep feelings with the Chinese students as a large number of Chinese students studied there. In grade five, I helped Chinese classmates to write graduation thesis frequently. We continued to be good friends when I came to China in April 1956 and met with them again. It was the time of the "Cultural Revolution" when I came to China for work for more than three years for the second time. I established very good work relations with my Chinese counterparts working in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs".

"The Chinese people are industrious and brave. That is what Chairman Mao said and I will say so too." He appraises Chinese in a unique way. Fond of playing piano Rogachev is rather happy about the common point of the Russian nationality and the Chinese nation -- Love for music and art. He said many songs of the former Soviet Union and Russia are extremely popular in China, which is not accidental. He remembers clearly Liu Shikun's excellent performances at the former Soviet Union Embassy to China after coming back from the Tchaikovsky piano competition with honor, and the China Peking Opera Troupe's performances in the Soviet Union in the summer of 1955. "I was the interpreter of Mei Lanfang at that time. Their performances were extremely popular as the tickets were sold out within a few days. There were many people at the theater gate waiting for tickets before the start of the performance each time". He said: "Now, I am very excited while watching the performances offered by Russian Song and Dance ensemble when it pays a visit to China each time because Chinese audience often stands up to sing with the performers together when hearing Russian songs". What makes him gladder is that the recent TV play "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" made by Chinese has deeply attracted the contemporary Chinese audience ......

Rogachev emphasized the human culture cooperation between the two countries must be strengthened, especially the exchanges between the youth organizations and the young people of two countries must be paid attention to, although there are very good political relations between the two countries. He deemed that the announcement of 2004 as "The Friendship Year of Sino-Russian Youth" by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Putin is a good beginning. It is necessary for both sides to continue to make great efforts in the future in order to let the people of the two countries be good neighbors, good friends and good partners forever.

Four generations have predestined relationship with China

"If time permits I will try my best to experience the changes in China ...... I have fully experienced the depth and greatness of China. China is a country about which one needs to devote his whole life to the understanding of it," which is his monologue according to his own story. His feelings towards China have run through the voyage of his life and also are linked with the four generations of his family.

Rogachev said, "My father is a translator and translated a lot of Chinese literary. works. Among them the most famous ones are "Journey to the West" and "The Water Margin". The two novels have been printed in the Soviet Union and Russia for many times and each time they have been sold well". His father studied Sinology with great concentration for more than 60 years, paying a lot for consolidating and developing Russian and Chinese friendship. He also passed on his descendants his love for China, the Chinese people and the Chinese culture.

Nowadays, as a reporter of Interfax news agency his daughter has already worked in Beijing for several years. "My grandson resolves to become a Sinologist too." When talking about this, Rogachev's eyes were suffused with light: "He is a grade-four student with the department of law in the Moscow Institute of International Relations and the Chinese language is his first choice when selecting foreign languages to study. He lived with me in Beijing for about two years. He has been to China for 16 times after entering the institute. He came also to China last year with a 100-member Russian youth delegation".

How time flies! Great changes have taken place in the world. More than 50 years have turned a tall Russian guy with golden hair into the widely respected Nestor of diplomatic circles. The friendship medals he won have clearly proved that he has devoted to the good neighborly and friendly relations between Russia and China. Speaking of the future, the 73-year-old Rogachev said: I will also continue paying close attention to China, which has just confirmed what he said in one of his articles: "My life, my diplomatic job and major on China's issue have countless contacts with this great country ...... I have never repented my own choice".

The article is carried on People's Daily newspaper, May 19, and translated by People's Daily Online